Let’s imagine that you have a craving for pizza. (Wait, you really do? It’s like I read your mind; let’s be friends.) Okay, now that you’re thinking about how delicious pizza is—with all that chewy crust and savory sauce—you might start thinking that you maybe want some garlic bread, too. (Look, you’re in good company—there’s a reason so many pizza delivery places throw garlic bread twists in with your order.) So pizza craving, check. Garlic bread craving, check. And then you think, while we’re on the topic of carbs, let’s just go for the trifecta (YOLO), and you start imagining the first bite of a buttery, soft roll—warm from the oven. The kind that would be like a simple dinner roll meets a Parker House roll meets…an entire slab of butter.
Read moreChocolate Hazelnut-Filled Rolls
Here is a nice way to have a nice day. First, get up and get out of bed. This is imperative to the plan—really, it just doesn’t work if you loll about reading old articles of Shouts & Murmurs on thenewyorker.com and wishing someone would bring you a plate of crispy bacon.
Okay, so you’re out of bed! Good! Well done! But that’s not going to be enough. Now listen carefully to this next part: tear through the “brush-teeth-wash-face-put-on-running-clothes-lace-up-sneakers” process. Under no circumstances are you to overthink this, or do it slowly, or put on your shoes but then instead of running shorts, try on a few nonsensical outfits like that ill-advised llama-print t-shirt you bought last spring from J.Crew with a long flowy silk skirt just to see if you can “pull off the high-low trend” (you can’t).
Read moreCHEESECAKE-STUFFED CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
Let’s talk about your sense of adventure. How is it these days? Thriving? While I believe each of us to have our own innate level of comfort with adventure—that can certainly fluctuate throughout the years. I think of myself as a solid 8 out of 10 on the adventurous scale, but I’ve dipped down as far as a tentative, trembling 2 at times and sometimes soared high as a fearless 14 (yes, out of 10), craving all sorts of risk, seeking hits of adrenaline in far-flung places.
Read moreFOUR-LAYER SECRET-INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE
Last week, I spent a few days in the Florida sunshine. I returned to New York, facing down a dreary stretch of cold, rainy weather—within minutes of landing on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport, it was already hard to remember the sensation of soft, still-warm evening breeze on my skin. Of the sting of hot water hitting sunburn in the shower. Of the humidity that hangs in the air, like hot breath on you. Of palm trees and iced coffee and peeling ripe citrus poolside, the juice dripping down your fingers.
Read moreGRUYERE-STUFFED CRUSTY LOAVES
Today’s recipe is one in a series of “how have I possibly not written about this yet” recipes. These are recipes that I personally love, make all the time, and swear by. They’re the ones that I tell other people to make if they ask me for, say, a chocolate birthday cake—like the Brooklyn Blackout Cake we talked about earlier this week.
And before we dive into it all, let’s start with a question. Do you like cheese?
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